Beneath the Surface {Moonrose}

[ella]

The golden sand of the beach was slightly warm beneath her paws, one of the only signs on the beach that spring had come 'round, rescuing the land from the cold clutches of winter. The water that was churning at the edges of the beach in waves still held a slightly gray undertone to it, suggesting that thought its facade was a charming blue, the liquid was still hovering at just above freezing, and those who were not careful could be caught in its deadly grasp. Still, the femme was not phased by this at all, having swam in almost all kinds of water imaginable.

With graceful motions punctuated by her long legs, the femme ripped down from the higher point of the beach, towards the shoreline, and with a single leap, landed in the water with nothing but a small splash. The fur on her posterior melted away into scales, the milky white and many colors of a rainbow trout. With swift side to side motions, the Cael propelled herself through the water, enjoying the feeling of freedom she got from its depths. Little did she know, she had company...

[|-Moonrose-|]

The sun shone brightly down upon a fiery red pelt, illuminating the rock walls with a crimson flash. The three tails of the young, female Lyxxus drooped down low and her ears were pressed flat against her head. The anxiety built in her chest, causing the adrenaline to pump faster through her veins. Her claws sheathed in and out of her small paws, kneading at the unfamiliar sand beneath her. She bent her head down and gave her ivory right foreleg a lick, sapphire eyes watching the water uneasily. The scar crossing her left eye was coated with sweat beads dripping through the Guardian's fur.

She sighed, truly irritated with herself. "Stupid, stupid, stupid..." She muttered. "This was a stupid idea! I come here to learn to swim and I'm having second thoughts already! Stupid Moonrose... Stupid me..."

Moonrose gave herself a low growl and stalked forward, much against her own will, even though there was nothing stopping her from turning and going back to Lumera Valley. She desperately wished to learn to swim, and a packmate had told her learning to swim in the ocean, where there weren't many harsh currents in shallow water as there were in rivers, would be the easiest option.

"I hate water..." Moonrose reminded herself upon approaching the beach, though she was several feet away, "But I came here to conquer that."

A flash in the water caught her eye, though she thought nothing of it for but a moment, until she saw it again. Rainbow scales glittered beneath the surface of the crystalline water, as well as a sliver of white. Peering closer, Moonrose saw it was a wolf. Not just any wolf, a Cael. She had only ever seen one before and she truly admired them, especially for their grace in the beautiful liquids she hated so much.

Moonrose debated her options for a moment, thinking how kind the last Cael she met was, and decided upon calling out to the wolf. Moonrose was there to learn how to swim. A Cael was there swimming. Maybe this wolf would be friendly enough to help her conquer this fear, and maybe have a small adventure on top of that. Moonrose smiled at the thought of making a new friend.

"Hey! Can you hear me?"

[ella]

The exhilaration any Cael felt whilst in the water paled in comparison to the rush of sheer joy that Ella felt as she swum beneath the waves, her tail pounding the liquid in that same, dependable rhythm, letting a warm feeling spread across her whole body. Beneath the waves, Ella could see the many shades of blue and green, that dreaded hint of grey gone now that the waves were over her head.

She paddled every which way, not caring is she got 'lost'; there was only two ways to go, and quite honestly, the Cael didn't care if she got into deeper water or back to the shore. She paddled into the deep water, watching for a few moments the brilliant hues of the other fish, but then flipping back to her own glorious swimming, a wolfish smile spread across her features all the way.

She heard a slight noise from above the water, and with a single stroke of her front legs and a paddle from her tail, she emerged, just in time to hear the inquiry of the other wolf. The exuberant smile melted away into a softer, more welcoming one, and, trying not to chew on her paw, Ella looked back at the stranger. "Yup, loud and clear." she responded.

[|-Moonrose-|]

Despite the fur on her shoulders standing on end, Moonrose was not worried about the wolf before her; it was mainly the water she was fretting over. There were only so many things the Lyxxus was afraid of, water being one of them. The Cael's smile was warm and friendly, causing her to sigh in relief, knowing the wolf wouldn't try to drown her for trespassing.

Her sapphire eyes were warily searching the blue depths before her, and the anxiety only became worse. She attempted to rebuild her courage by starting a conversation with the Cael, hoping it would lead to a swimming lesson or something. She wanted to return to the Children with the ability to swim and shed the embarrassment she had carried for so long.

"I don't know if I'm trespassing or not, but I came here to learn something." She said, nearly shaken from her pelt at the sudden splash of water towards her. She stepped back, slightly frightened, fur sticking straight up. "You see, I can't swim, I never learned how. Obviously, that's why I'm here."

For a moment, she awaited her company to reply to her, but soon realized she had not introduced herself. Moonrose shook her head, laughing lightly at her own folly. A smile crossed the length of her maw, brightening her overwhelmed and fearing expression.

"Forgive me. Where are my manners?" She chuckled. "My name is Moonrose. I'm a member of the Children of Hvítur Ári. What's yours?"

[ella]

The femme noted with a meaningless blink that the fur on the back of the other's neck was beginning to stand up a bit, and her head cocked slightly as she looked at the Lyxxus before her; was she really that intimidating? Still, the smile was stretched across her pink lips, and Ella wasn't sure that could ever waver, even if she wanted it to. After all, though it was shallow, she was still in water, and water made her feel more alive than anything else could - she would not be who she was without water surrounding her.

"Trespassing? Oh, no, this isn't my pack lands! I wish it were, though! So much water. Up in the Tundra, there isn't much water, just a lot of ice. Well, don't let me start rambling about it." Ella said, grabbing her paw in her mouth, nervously chewing at it, but then attempting to force the extremity back into the water, not wanting anxiety to take hold of her.

"Ah, it's knowledge that you want then? I'm a scholar in my pack, so that should be pretty easy. And if you want to learn how to swim, that'll be even easier." the femme shook her head in excitement, looking at the other fae with the same exuberant smile plastered onto her face. The thought of introducing her watery world to another just made Ella more excited.

"My name's Cinderella, better known as Ella to most. I am a proud member of the Knights of the Therian Order. Whew, that's a mouthful" she said, her normally scared attitude melting away into a world of humor and smiles.

[|-Moonrose-|]

Ella, eh? Moonrose would be sure to remember that. She never forgot the names of those she met. The Cael was very friendly, causing the fur on her shoulders to fall some, but the water made her uneasy still. A small sigh left her mouth and she allowed her three tails slowly roll out from between her legs. She swallowed the lump in her throat, forcing her courage to return to her.

"Well, being a Cael, I suppose you can help me with that, then?" She asked, trying to keep the smile on her face as she stepped closer and closer to the water. "I'm guessing...that the first step would be for me to become acquainted with the wretched stuff."

Her smile faded and a look of disgust crossed her maw as she felt the wet sand seep between the creases in her pads. She moved to the right so, if she were to panic and fall in the water, she would not hit Ella doing so. Moonrose sucked in a breath and held it when she allowed her feet to get within the range of the smooth tide.

Moonrose felt her fur go wild when the water barely touched her paw tips. She yelped in surprise, lurching forward into the water. Though it wasn't deep, she panicked and went under for a moment. She froze for a second, then regained her footing and shot out from the water, soaked to her skin.

The sand was caked to her legs when she ran to get the water off of her. She shook her pelt, spraying water droplets all over. Then, Moonrose stood there, utterly petrified at the scene she had just created. Her back was arched slightly and the warm feeling of embarrassment crept through her skin. She tucked her nose into her chest, a habit she had when she was embarrassed.

"I...feel...so...stupid."

[ella]

Ella watched with sly eyes as the femme tried to let go of her tension, first with a softly exhaled from between her slightly parted lips, then by letting her triplet tails unfurl from in between her legs, then swallowing, quite obviously. All the while, the femme just stood, ankle deep in water, ready for Moonrose to make her move, and start the lesson.

"Of course I can help you - whenever you need help, or if you're getting nervous, just call." Ella said with a soft smile and an encouraging nod. "Don't call it wretched - water has a collective consciousness. Plus, it'll just make you more apprehensive." Ella instructed, swimming to the left a little as the femme did, even though she was traveling to her right.

She watched with the careful patience of a teacher as Moonrose freaked out, leaping out of the water. "It'll be easier if you go deeper, so that you have no where to go but the water."

[|-Moonrose-|]

Moonrose released a small snort, blowing water from her nose. Collective consciousness? The Lyxxus highly doubted that water had one, perhaps only because of her hatred for it, but she pushed it aside, knowing she was right. Ella was a Scholar, after all. She knew what she was doing, though Moonrose had no desire to go deep into the water. However, the Guardian had a feeling it was the only thing she could do.

She sighed, ears pressing against her head, and walked once again to the water. It wasn't as cold when she touched it this time, seeing as she was already wet, and she managed to get ankle deep into the water, waiting several moments. In doing so, she found it wasn't as bad as she had thought. It was nice, almost soothing. She was close to feeling at ease.

Moonrose felt her breathing become uneven the further out she went, feeling the gooey sand and hard stones and shells beneath her feet. Whatever she touched startled her, causing her to jerk her legs up awkwardly when it happened. The water level had come to the base of her neck, and it was there she felt uncomfortable. What dry fur she had began rising and her slitted pupils attempted to track the shapes beneath the surface, scaring her that she didn't know exactly what they were.

"Ella...this is my limit..." Her voice broke, crackling in a way to reveal her nervousness. "Can you help me from here?"

The Lyxxus, despite her elevating fear, waited patiently where she stood for the Cael to come to her aid and refused to get out of the water. Still tracking the shapes, Moonrose began musing to herself, unaware that her question was loud enough for her frind to hear, "I wonder what it's like under the water...?"